Need Help - two questions

[jbnt9999]

Ever since i got the new Bliss rails my machine  acts funny when I am close to the leveler bar. ex. Making a line with channel lock to line up  quilt with.  It almost has a stutter.  It also happens when free motion quilting or doing a panto when the machine gets in  that area.  I have a video, but don't know how to post.   But if anyone would like to view I can send it to your email. 

 

Also I have Marti Michelles multi kite template and cannot find my instructions on how to use it. Im wanting to use it for a spider web quilt.  If anyone can help me with this I would be most thankful.

[Busy Quilting]

Check that the connections to the stitch regulator are not a little loose. It sounds like you are at the limit of the cables and maybe that is when the connection stutters.

 

Mart's multi kite haven't heard of it but must check it out.

[srichardson]

Betty Ann,

 

I don't have Bliss but I have read that you do need a grounding wire.  I don't know if that could be causing your problem or not.  I am sure someone with Bliss will chime in at some point.

 

As far as your template, if you haven't already found this it may help.

 

http://www.frommarti.com/ruler-kite.shtml

 

http://www.frommarti.com/downloads/errata_Kite_p14_15.pdf

[jbnt9999]

yes I had found both of the sites for the kite pattern.  Its not what I need.  I need to know how to place for cutting out.  What is the layout. Thought it would be logical but maybe I am not seeing it. 

 

The machine is grounded but I will ck the connection and see if the cable is strained. I did notice that it only did this in regulated mode. Hummmmmm 

[DawnCavanaugh]

Betty Ann,

 

What you are experiencing next to the leveler bar is perfectly normal and is a slightly odd result of how the Bliss system works. It probably feels like the machine is "chugging" when you have it pushed all the way to the leveler bar and you push the machine from left to right when you stand on the needle side. However, you won't notice it when you push the machine the other direction, move more quickly, or when you have it in manual sewing mode.

 

I know it's weird, but the phenomenon is caused by a combination of things that affect the machine's movement, including the harmonics of the motor, the eccentric on the fly wheel, and the single bearing on the rear Bliss axle.

 

The bearing in the front of your machine has an "eccentric" that is counter-balanced to make the machine sew smoothly. If you've ever watched the wheels of a train engine as it moves, imagine how they look when that long bar that connects them hits the top and bottom of its stroke. Your quilting machine's fly wheel is kind of like that. There's a weight on one side of it that swings around as your needle goes up and down. The fly wheel rotates clockwise as you sew, and so does the motor itself.

 

So as you move the machine from left to right, that counter-weight on the fly wheel comes up and around, flinging its weight to the right. When the motor is at the right harmonic spot, it contributes to the centrifugal force on that weight as it comes around with each stroke of the needle. (It reminds me of how a person throwing a shot put looks as they spin around and around.) Now, the reason this is more pronounced with the Bliss track system is that the rear wheel on the Bliss carriage is only a single wheel like a tripod, rather than having four wheels like a wagon.

 

The head balances beautifully on that single wheel and provides super slick movement. But when the machine is pushed all the way to the back of the carriage, much of its weight hangs past the carriage and that single wheel now balances everything on the carriage. Once the motor, eccentric, and fly wheel start spinning clockwise, each time the counter weight spins around it can feel like it "pulls" the machine just like the train chugging up the tracks when it swings by.

 

This is very hard to describe, but hopefully you're getting at least a little better understanding as to the "why" and can relax knowing it's perfectly normal. I advise students to simply roll the quilt closer to them when doing that first basting line if they float their tops to help eliminate the chugging feeling, or to move more quickly to overcome the motor harmonics.

 

Hope this helps!

[Busy Quilting]

Wow,  Dawn....... That explanation is fantastic.    I CAN understand everything you said.

[Heirloom Quilter]

Thanks, Dawn!  That's an excellent explanation.  I don't understand everything you said but I think I got most of it.

[Oma]

Betty, I'm not sure what you are looking for, but I just made a Spider Web quilt and I made it like this (attaching a url for a YouTube video).  I hope it's what you need although I didn't use my Marti Mitchell template because this was easier. 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et_AuPOcUlw

[jbnt9999]

Thank you, thank you to everyone! Dawn thank his so much for the explanation . I am so relieved it is not something that I was doing or was wrong. I have loved the new bliss system but that was giving me some worry. You are always great!

I also heard back from the marti michell people about the kite template. They are sending me instructions. What a good and prompt response. It's alway the weekend when you need something and can't find it. I know it's somewhere safe, but ??????

Thanks again to everyone and this forum. You all are the best! I read it all the time but i rarely post except when desperate due to limited knowledge.